ISLAMABAD — Fast bowler Mohammad Amir is back in Pakistan’s Twenty20 and ODI squads — provided he can get a visa for New Zealand.
Amir’s five-year ban from international cricket for spot-fixing ended in September but the left-arm quick needs clearance from authorities in New Zealand because he also served three months in an English jail for taking bribes to bowl no-balls at agreed times.
“On his international comeback, Amir will travel with the team subject to grant of visa by the New Zealand government,” chief selector Haroon Rasheed said in a statement Friday.
Amir will face stiff competition for a place in the ODI eleven from three other left-arm pacers - Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Irfan.
Before the ban Amir was regarded as the hottest property in international cricket, having taken 51 wickets in 14 Tests and 25 in 15 one-day internationals.
He also had 23 wickets in 18 Twenty20 matches.
Pakistan is scheduled to play three Twenty20s and three One-Day Internationals, starting Jan. 15, in New Zealand.
It will be Pakistan’s last Twenty20 series before the World Twenty20 tournament in March. The selectors also recalled Umar Gul to assess the fitness of the fast bowler ahead of the tournament in India.
“(The) Twenty20 team has been selected with a view to provide opportunities to everyone likely to feature in the squad for the global event,” Rasheed said.
The 23-year-old Amir has impressed selectors after he took 14 wickets in nine Twenty20 matches in Bangladesh’s domestic league, but his recall last month to the national training camp in Lahore upset at least two senior players.
ODI captain Azhar Ali and opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez openly opposed Amir joining the camp before they met with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan and were told to accept Amir if he was selected for the national team. Khan rejected Ali’s offer to quit the captaincy over Amir’s inclusion in the camp.
Surprisingly, selectors named fast bowler Mohammad Irfan for only the ODI squad.
Squads:
Twenty20: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Amir Yamin, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Mohammad Rizwan, Saad Nasim and Mohammad Amir.
ODI: Azhar Ali (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Amir. — Agencies
